The content of Application No. TOKUGANHEI 11-093384 which was filed in Japan on Mar. 31, 1999 and on which the claim to priority for this application is based, is hereby incorporated by reference.
The present invention relates to a motive power transmission structure for a vehicle.
In a front-engine, rear-drive vehicle, motive power from the engine disposed in an engine compartment is transmitted to the final drive unit at the rear of the vehicle via a propeller shaft within the floor tunnel, so as to drive the rear wheels (refer to Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application publication H9-300996).
In general, at a front-end collision of a vehicle, the decrease in a deceleration of a cabin increases the protection provided to the occupants of the vehicle. To decrease the deceleration of the cabin, it is necessary to decrease a reaction force by bending the propeller shaft, particularly in a front-engine, rear-drive vehicle.
If the bending deflection of the propeller shaft is unstable, however, there is a chance that the propeller shaft interferes the floor tunnel, the bending amount of the propeller shaft is limited, whereby the cabin is not decelerated sufficiently.
When the floor panel exhibits broadening deformation due to a front-end collision, the positions of the seatbelt attachment points on the floor panel move, which might affect the restraining of occupants by the seatbelts. The distortion of the floor panel can be prevented by making the floor panel thick, although this leads to an increase in the weight of the vehicle.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a motive power transmission structure for a vehicle, wherein when a front-end collision occurs, the propeller shaft exhibits stable bending deformation with an aiming mode, and the broadening deformation of the floor panel is reliably prevented.
To achieve the above-noted object, the present invention has a front panel, a propeller shaft, a protrusion, and a stay. The floor panel is defined by a pair of side walls parallel along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. The propeller shaft is disposed within the floor panel, and has an intermediate joint therewithin. Motive power from the engine is transmitted via the propeller shaft. The protrusion is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the propeller shaft, in the region of the joint. The stay is disposed to the rear of the protrusion, and provides a link between the side walls of the floor panel. The protrusion interferes with the stay when the propeller shaft moves rearward, or the stay interferes the protrusion when moves forward.